Twins Minor League Report (5/18): Affiliates Do Damage with their Bats

The Twins split a double-header on Thursday, in large part because Jose Berrios (the version of Jose Berrios that Twins fans have been DREAMING of) pitched a wonderful game in the nightcap to keep the Twins from being swept by the Rockies. On the minor league side of things the Twins’ affiliates scored almost 40 runs. Lots of action to cover below, so let’s find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Thursday.

This was NOT a classic pitchers duel as neither pitcher made it into the sixth inning of this minor league matinee. Former first-overall draft pick Mark Appel held the Red Wings in check through three innings, but then the wheels fell off and the Wings got to Appel for sixruns in the fourth. Meanwhile, Red Wings starter Jason Wheeler gave up a seven-spot in the second inning, and yet somehow still managed to earn the win thanks to that big Wings fourth inning.

Wheeler made it through five innings, gave up eight hits, seven runs (all earned) and walked two. He struck out six and also gave up a pair of home runs (both in the seven-run second, including a Rhys Hoskins grand slam). Wheeler gave way to Buddy Boshers who came in for 3.0 innings and gave up one run one on one hit, a solo home run. Trevor Hildenberger came in and earned his second save of the year, in an exciting ninth in which he gave up a walk and a hit, but used a pair of strike- outs to avoid letting the Iron Pigs score.

Matt Hague and Tommy Field both had three-hit games for the Wings. Hague was 3-5 with a double and a solo home run. Field was 3-4 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a pair of runs scored. Zack Granite led the way with 3 RBI as part of a 1-4 afternoon that also included a stolen base. ByungHo Park was the only player without a hit or a walk, going 0-5 on the afternoon.

The Lookouts were behind for the entire game after giving up a run in the bottom of the first inning. Starter Fernando Romero made it into the fifth inning, but left and was charged with six earned runs, and one more unearned run. He gave up five hits, walked four and struck out four. He was replaced by Luke Bard who gave up six hits in just 1.2 innings and was charged with two runs (one earned) before giving way to Raul Fernandez who had a great relief appearance with the pressure off. Fernandez struck out five, walked one, and gave up just one hit in two innings of scoreless relief.

The Miracle scattered seven hits, but didn’t get any hits from their leadoff man Nike Gordon, 0-4 with a strikeout, a walk and a stolen base. Travis Harrison (remember him?) was the only hitter with multiple hits, 2-4. Former first-round draft pick Levi Michael remained hot with a 1-3 night that included a double, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Before the game started the Miracle got good news as lefthander Lewis Thorpe was activated from the DL in Cedar Rapids and immediately promoted to Fort Myers. Thorpe has not pitched in a MiLB game since 2014 thanks to a Tommy John surgery and a lengthy bout with mononucleosis. He will start for the Miracle on Friday.

Sort of a hodgepodge solid effort from the Miracle pitching staff as they used four pitchers to defeat the Clearwater Threshers and complete the four-game series sweep. Brady Anderson gave up a pair of runs in the fourth inning, but otherwise kept runs off the board over 4.1 innings. He gave up six hits, struck out three and gave up a two-out, two-run homer. Michael Theofanopoulos came in and gave the Miracle 2.2 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit, struck out one, and earned the win when the Miracle took the lead with a three-run fifth. Williams Ramirez earned a save for a scoreless eighth inning in which he walked two and Sam Clay picked up his second save of the year with a scoreless ninth.

The Miracle did not collect any extra-base hits and struck out 10 times but were 4-9 with runners in scoring position and managed to do just enough to come out on top. Bradley Strong was 2-4 with an RBI and Kevin Garcia also had a pair of hits, going 2-4 with a strikeout and a run scored. Alex Perez was one non-strikeout away from the Golden Sombrero award as he was 0-3 with three strikeouts and a walk.

The Kernels gave up a run in the bottom of the first, but got it back in the second and took the lead for good in the top of the fourth en route to a 6-3 victory. Kernels starter Domenick Carlini pitched great for the Kernels, giving up just one run over six innings. He gave up five hits but struck out four and did not issue a single free pass. He did, however, give up a leadoff home run to start the game. Carlini gave way to Colton Davis who pitched a pair of scoreless innings and then Logan Lombana came on to pitch the ninth and gave up three hits, two runs and a walk, but used three strikeouts to limit the damage and secure the Kernels victory.

Jaylin Davis had himself a night for the Kernels, 3-5 with three extra-base hits, a double and two home runs. This close on the heels of his three-home run night on Tuesday. Brandon Lopez pitched in with a couple of hits of his own, going 2-4 out of the nine hole for the Kernels second baseman.

21 Comments

Rough day for Park. Not only was he the only Red Wings hitter not to reach base, he was responsible for all three outs in their huge 4th inning - flying out to start the inning and grounding into a double play to end it.

Also, I think I'd vote for Davis as the hitter of the day - I sense a Midwest League Player of the Week award in his near future.

Lastly, great to see Lewis Thorpe will finally be taking the mound in game action - been a long road for that young man.

The news on Thorpe is the best news I have heard this year, especially going straight to the Miracle . Expect they kept him in EST long enough that he won't pitch more innings than they want the rest of the Miracle season.

After missing two years, we are going to have to be patient as I am certain there will be a few bumps along the way. But if Thorpe can get back to the pitcher he was, he can be that top of the line starter we all have been waiting for.

The news on Thorpe is the best news I have heard this year, especially going straight to the Miracle . Expect they kept him in EST long enough that he won't pitch more innings than they want the rest of the Miracle season.

After missing two years, we are going to have to be patient as I am certain there will be a few bumps along the way. But if Thorpe can get back to the pitcher he was, he can be that top of the line starter we all have been waiting for.

I'm pumped about this too.My only real concern is how little time he got in CR... He was pretty bad his first month there, but you could see a month over month improvement while he was there, but only a few months there followed by 2 years of inactivity and a start at a higher level, I think some expectations need to be in check.He may struggle... a lot.

The biggest risk factor for all players is that they aren't good enough to play in the Majors.

Pitcher injury risk gets a lot of attention, but I think maybe even more important is the fact that pitchers develop somewhat differently than hitters. To me, the only thing you can even partially bank on with a pitcher - assuming health - is what he can already do on the mound. Command does tend to improve slowly over time, velocity tends to decrease slowly over time, but beyond that pitcher development is highly volatile.

If a HS pitcher is the better pitcher today than a college pitcher, I want the HS pitcher. If the college pitcher is better, I want the college pitcher, with maybe a very rare exception if it's close and the HS pitcher is a superior athlete.

I'd wait before freaking out. A+ to AA is supposed to be the most difficult jump and he did miss a lot of time before coming back last year. Let's see what his stuff looks like in August.

I suppose he could be having some inconsistencies with his secondary stuff at this point in the season too. Understand he's had some issues with that in the past. It;s a lot tougher to try to get by on just your heater at AA than at Cedar Rapids or Fort Myers.

I'd wait before freaking out. A+ to AA is supposed to be the most difficult jump and he did miss a lot of time before coming back last year. Let's see what his stuff looks like in August.

Fort Myers to Chattanooga is also a transition from an extreme pitchers' park to an extreme hitters' park. Combined with the level change, that is fairly tough for a pitcher. Even if they pitch well their numbers won't be as pretty, given the environment.